OCU Softball Coach Participates in National Fastpitch Coaches College Course

Ohio Christian University Softball coach, Emory Clark, has completed the National Fastpitch Coaches College course titled The Art of Championship Coaching. Coach Clark received instruction from three recognized leaders in the softball coaching profession: Susan Craig, former head coach at the University of New Mexico, Gayle Blevins, former head coach at the University of Iowa, and Rhonda Revelle, head softball coach at the University of Nebraska. Coach Clark also enjoyed interacting with members of the fastpitch softball coaching community from around the region and across the nation.

Material for the course Coach Clark attended included topics such as coaching styles, team communication, and providing a foundation for a softball program. Other topics included managing various types of behavior, providing direction to the program, leading the program through challenging times, and team building. The final day of the course devoted a significant amount of time to developing mental toughness within the softball program.

"This was my first course in the National Fastpitch Coaches College program and I really enjoyed it. The three instructors come from the highest echelon of the coaching industry and they shared with us a wealth of information from a variety of sources including their own experiences and programs. It is always great to learn from someone, or a group of people such as these three coaches, who have been there, can relate to the stressors and struggles where you are, and can offer such great information and insights to help you achieve your goal of building a successful program," said Coach Clark. "I also enjoyed getting to meet some of the coaches from other colleges, high schools and travel clubs from not only our immediate area, but from around the country from places such as Indiana, Wisconsin, even as far away as Washington state. The course content and interaction was wonderful."

The course is the first course Coach Clark has completed through the National Fastpitch Coaches College. The National Fastpitch Coaches College is a program of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association with a curriculum of eight courses that cover a variety of topics such as game day strategy, game day coaching and performance evaluation, and many other facets of coaching designed to help improve the coach's mastery of the art of coaching fastpitch softball. Each time a coach completes two courses they earn a new level of Master Coach certification. The completion of all eight courses results in a Four Star Master Coach certification.

Ohio Christian University softball competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association Mid East Region and in the Ohio Collegiate Athletic Conference. For more information about OCU softball contact head coach Emory Clark at eclark@ohiochristian.edu or 740-477-7707.